Posts by Carter Wrenn
Double Talk?
Open the newspaper most any day and you’ll read some politician somewhere saying the government’s flat broke. Washington’s out of money. Raleigh’s destitute. Money’s tight at City Hall. The County’s cut its budget. But the other morning I opened the newspaper and one story sounded a different note: Amid all…
Read MoreNo
For a year Phil Berger the Leader of the State Senate’s been looking the Governor in the eye and telling her, ‘No,’ and now as if wrestling a Governor isn’t enough trouble for one man he’s told the State House ‘No’ too. Governor Perdue and the Democrats have been pummeling House Speaker Thom Tillis…
Read MoreThe Differences Between Republicans and Democrats
Over in the State Senate the Republicans and Democrats are going at it hammer and tongs, fighting it out over their education platforms. The Democrats say, Spend more money. Now. And Republicans say, No – let’s require third graders to read. The Democrats say, Failing third graders who can’t read is terrible…
Read MoreSticking to Their Guns
Last year, the State Legislature passed a bill to charge people riding state ferries tolls but, then, after the legislature left town the Governor thumbed her nose at the legislators and said, Well, you can pass it but darned if I’ll collect it. So the tolls were a dead issue. Until the legislature reconvened.…
Read MoreHarsh Words Breed Malice
Danny Hembree, who killed a 17-year-old girl, proved that in addition to being a murderer he’s a fool, writing his local newspaper, describing himself sitting on death row as ‘a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV, and eating three well-balanced meals a day,’ and then, boasting how he’ll file decades of appeals before he gets…
Read MoreReality Show
Richard who’s Irish and Catholic sat listening to Mike the Republican and Tom the Democrat arguing then laid down his fork, leaned forward and said: Let me see if I’ve got this right. Pat McCrory’s going to sue the Democrats. The Democrats are already suing Pat McCrory. And the Democratic Chairman is about to get…
Read MoreA Whole Different Kettle of Fish
We all know one of those ‘Eeyores’ who whatever happens can’t help seeing a dark lining in every silver cloud, but most times when a fellow’s handed a blessing he didn’t earn or expect he just naturally starts looking on his future with more optimism. Since the last election there’s been a happy mantra…
Read MoreThe Choice Is…
With the election roaring down the homestretch, last weekend Republican leaders gathered at their convention in Greensboro (to gird for the final battle with Obama) and who did they choose to give voice to the party’s leaders and say to voters, We have the wisdom and character to lead the country through storm and turmoil…
Read MoreWired Up
Before the legislators trooped back to town the News and Observer ran an ‘expose’ about how public hospitals receive millions of dollars in tax breaks to help them care for the indigent but how those tax breaks put millions more in the hospitals’ pockets than they are spending on the poor. Governor Perdue, when…
Read MoreRe-Wired
Back in the old days when Marc Basnight and Tony Rand ran the General Assembly a cohort of Democratic lobbyists who controlled scads of money their clients could give candidates had the legislature wired up;–though no one quite realized it at the time that world came crashing down on Election Day in 2010 when the…
Read More